Leaf on vellum from a Dutch manuscript Book of Hours.

A wonderful leaf of a Dutch Book of Hours, written on very fine vellum and decorated with pen work in red, green and purple. The border on the recto is in the sophisticated "fountains"-style with the acanthus leaves often found in books illuminated by the Masters of the Haarlem Bible. These masters take their name from a three-volume Bible made for the Knights of St. John in Haarlem, Holland. This Bible is described in The Golden Age of Dutch Manuscript Painting by H. Defoer, et al. 1989. The initial "G" is done in wonderful pen work! The rubrics are in red. The borders on the verso have a decoration that gave the makers the nick name : the masters of the "takkenbossen" [= bundle of branches, a faggot.]: branches with green and gold leaves. The initial "G" on the verso and the "V" on the recto are very elaborately decorated with pen work and gold leaf, glued on with Arabic gum!

Reference: bwh53